The Mute and The Hunter
by Qu1ntus
Summary: A short story about how a mute mortal and a Hunter of Artemis fell in love over the course of a single journey. One-shot. T for language.


**Right...two months passed by since I last wrote _anything_. I needed something to be done. I decided to just make a little personal challenge. So, I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot I made.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and I do not own any copyright to any music.**

* * *

 **When Zoe Nightshade first met Indigo Santa Monica,** _ **properly**_ **met him, that is,** **at least about** **twenty** **minutes after the first time they officially did,** **their eyes locking up against each other** **, she didn't know what to think of him.** Sure, he was a _male_ , much like the others that she and her fellow Hunters despised and sworn an oath of regarding them, she felt him to be different, despite all her hatred and loathing.

He was just around her physical age, which should be around 16. He was a mortal. At least, that's what everyone else thought he was. He didn't have any of the characteristics a demigod had. No ADHD, no dyslexia, no strange eye color to represent a god, no scent that attracted monsters, and most certainly no godly parent to claim him. And yet he was a special, if not unusual one.

It wasn't just that he had the ability to see through the Mist, it seemed that he was mute, or that he just chose to never speak. They never heard him speak. Not a single word, did they ever hear him utter. He didn't care. He just went on with his day, doing whatever it he he needed to do. That didn't mean he didn't communicate with them, though. Ever since the dawning of the Messenger application, he always had the time to converse with some of the individuals there, through text, pictures, music, and videos. Still, despite his disability, it didn't mean that he couldn't make noises. He still laughed, he still sighed, and everything else. And they still don't know who he truly was. Was he mute? Did he decide to just not speak? Was he mortal? Was he immortal? No one knew the answers to those questions, and no one decided to bother those questions. He was still a good person, after all.

Also, she only knew all this _after_ she threatened his life.

She met him on the day Artemis and the Hunters arrived at Camp Half-Blood, when Zoe was the first to enter into the Artemis cabin, where she saw him taking care of the various furniture and rooms situated there. However she incorrectly assumed that he might have been searching around, looking to steal a precious item there. It was...as awkward and violent as you'd expect.

She immediately took out her bow and arrow, aimed straight at his head, demanding, "Who are you? What are you doing here?! Why are you in this place forbidden except for the Goddess of the Hunt and the Hunters?!"

His eyes grew wide, but those immediately softened. He just gave a warm smile. Unfortunately, the hunter misinterpreted it and fired at his head, to which he ducked. It struck a curtain, leaving a medium-sized rip. When he stood up and looked at it, he felt _incensed_. It took him nearly fifty minutes to fully clean the dusty curtains, and this... _hunter_ just wasted that time? She wasn't going to get away with this. He took the arrow lodged into the wall and removed it. He gave an audible groan. The wall had a crack formed from the impact of the arrow. This further displeased him. Without hesitation he threw it towards her.

She widened her eyes. _'Uh oh.'_ She ducked like he had before, and the arrow just landed outside at the soft ground. She stood up again, looking at the arrow before looking back at the boy a few feet away from her, his hands covering his face. She heard him sigh. She then saw him take a box that, once he opened it, contained sewing items and began to repair the tear that she caused.

Admittedly, she got curious. She saw very few men who could sew, and he was now one of them. But before she could talk to him, she needed answers. She decided to leave him alone for now and headed back to the mess hall, where she immediately spotted Chiron. She then approached him.

"Ah, Miss Nightshade. What can I do for you?"

"Have you ever seen a..." She hesitated for a moment, before regaining her composure and continued. "Was there a boy here, who is about my physical age, has black hair, wears almost all black clothing with a longcoat, and violet eyes? There...was a minor incident involving me and him."

He understood who she had been talking about.

"So you must've met Indigo. I apologize on his behalf. It would've been better had you two met during better circumstances, but, considering you met him as he was cleaning and taking care of Artemis's cabin as of this moment..."

That surprised her. "He was cleaning?"

"That's what I said. His full name is Indigo Santa Monica. He's a mortal who can see through the Mist. Knowing the oaths you had taken, it wouldn't have been too surprising how you had reacted to him being there."

She had turned pinkish in embarrassment. Here she assumed he had (mostly) bad intentions, as do all _men,_ like she and the others believed, when he had been just doing menial work.

Still, it didn't make sense. So she asked, "Why was he taking care of milady's cabin?"

"Well, you see, Zoe, unofficially, he had been the caretaker for some of the empty cabins in Camp Half-Blood. There were only two of them, though: Hera's and Artemis's. He had volunteered, actually. What I mean to say is that he still did so despite it."

That got her more intrigued. Regardless, she had her answers. She nodded to the trainer of heroes. "My deepest thanks, Chiron. And, I would like to offer my apologies for the...incident."

He just waved it off and smiled. "He doesn't usually hold those things against most people. Unless he had been cleaning curtains for fifty minutes and then something messed up his finished work..."

Oh if only Chiron saw the look on the embarrassed Hunter's face right now as she walked away. He'd have been chuckling at the poor girl.

She needed to apologize. She had thought wrong on the boy. Sure she was still against all _males_ , but even she knew what she had done was irrational and just plain stupid, as she reacted without knowing further.

When she got back, she saw him outside the cabin, just about ready to head off somewhere in camp.

"Wait!" She called out. He turned around to see the girl who had nearly ruined what he had been doing for the past hour. He sighed, his eyes boring at the girl, as if wordlessly saying through his eyes, _"What now?"_ No doubt he was tired of the girl already.

She stopped short just about a foot away from the violet-eyed boy.

He saw her shuffling her feet, as if too nervous to speak. It made him confused, seeing how pissed off she was. This was...a surprising change. He knew people like her were not the kind of people to just be nervous, and he knew she was a headstrong girl. But he felt that she had a good head on her shoulders. "I...I just want to...apologize. For what happened earlier. I...did not assume right, and I had reacted too quickly to what you were doing. And...I am also sorry for the curtains and wall."

His eyes grew wide. But just like before, they softened, and he smiled. He gave a thumbs-up, and just walked away. Even though he didn't say anything, she understood that he had accepted her apology.

"Wait!" She called out again. She saw his shoulders rise, as if surprised. He turned back towards her.

"My...my name is Zoe Nightshade. I already know about your name, Indigo. It's only fair that you know mine." She said.

He nodded and smiled. And he turned around again and left.

But then something about Chiron's words struck her.

" _He's a mortal who can see through the Mist."_ Her eyes grew in realization. _'So that's why he was able to get to Camp Half-Blood.'_ She thought.

But in her mind, she felt that this may not just be the biggest secret he had.

* * *

 **The second time she had** **lo** **c** **ked** **o** **nto** **Indigo'** **s eyes** **, it was after the prophecy was given to her,** **and she was looking to select the final individual to their journey** **.** Although the prophecy was already worrying enough, the last two lines made her slightly more worried:

 _However, all might be changed_

 _By the fate of the one who defies fate._

Which could be changed? Who would defy the fates? Was it even possible for a prophecy to be defied?

It was getting to her. She needed to rest her mind. So she decided to sit by the lake.

She found Indigo there, just sitting by the lake as well, using his phone, probably scrolling through his news feed. By this point, she had known his condition, and decided to know him a little more. He was quiet (of course), but he had used his phone to express himself to her. As an added bonus, his phone was enchanted for him to use any song in his desire to express the words he wanted to say.

Oddly enough, over their short time together, he was a calming presence whenever he was around. He brought a different aura compared to any of the other campers. Hell, he had a different aura compared to her longtime companions. He made her laugh. He made her smile. He never took advantage of her like what she had perceived most men to be. He was always kind.

In battle, however, it was somewhat different.

As a mortal, on paper, Indigo shouldn't have been harmed by celestial bronze. This made the Hunters, during their Capture the Flag match against the campers, complain that their opponents had a distinct advantage since he can just walk up to the flag without any armor, and, barring hand-to-hand combat, wouldn't be harmed. All the campers knew better, and they told them that they'll see why they kept allowing him into their matches.

The answer was obvious. He did get harmed by the celestial bronze weapons, when he had gotten cuts on his legs and arms during his battle with, who else, Zoe. He didn't give a shit either way about his wounds. He just kept fighting. Like as if the wounds and blood didn't deter him. He kept that same level of energy and spirit as he fought the esteemed Hunter.

Even though his team had lost, he still put up a hell of a fight against her, and Zoe herself was surprised at how much he was adept at fighting. It got so intense and bloody that both had to be taken to the infirmary to heal their wounds.

Back to the present, she called him out, "Hey, Indy!"

He heard her, and he turned around to see his friend. He smiled, looking back to his phone and typed something, showing it to her afterwards: ' _Indy? You have a nickname for me? I thought you hated men.'_ It was followed by a laughing emote.

"You're an exception." That was all she said, sitting down just about more than a dozen inches away from him. She still just kept her distance from him, and he understood. He looked at her again, and once she turned to see him, she knew what he was asking.

"It's the prophecy."

He opened his mouth as if understanding it already. Of course, he only understood that she was stressed about it, not what the prophecy entailed. Who wouldn't be?

"I've already picked Phoebe and Bianca, while the campers consisted of just Grover and Thalia. Unfortunately, some stupid _boys_ had made a cruel prank on Phoebe, and as a result, she is unable to accompany me and the others. I still have to pick one more." She pouted. He found it to be cute, though he felt really bad for the Hunter who had been pranked. He suspected the perpetrators to be the Stoll brothers. He was gonna have a talk with them once he came back here. Stupid idiots.

His eyes then grew wide at that. It had to be. It was all just coincidence, right? No. In his mind, absolutely not. There would be no way she was going to pick the mute mortal to be the last companion to her journey to free Artemis-

"I've made my decision. You will be going with us."

Well, shit. He just sighed and smiled. He typed on the phone and showed it to her: _'Alright. No way I could refuse an order like that, especially since it's a freaking prophecy. That...and I can't really deny_ _something like that_ _from_ _such_ _a beautiful lady like yourself.'_

She just slapped him on the shoulder for that last one. It made her blush a deep red as she turned away from him-

Wait, why did she? She wasn't supposed to feel something as more than a friend for him. In addition to that, she was a Hunter. She swore off _men_ for crying out loud! All men were pigs! She had refused to let herself fall for another man since that _Hercules_ who had only taken advantage of her help for his glory.

But...he was different. He was so different from everyone else. That was all she could think of. He had never given her any reason why she should doubt him.

She turned back towards Indigo, who was staring at the morning sun. She tapped his shoulder, causing him to turn back towards her. He had an inquisitive look on his face.

"Well, get prepared. We will depart soon today." They both nodded and stood up, parting ways as they prepared for the arduous journey ahead.

They were going to save Lady Artemis. Zoe was sure of it. And Indigo was crazy-prepared to make double sure of it.

* * *

 **On the third time the two locked eyes, it was during the time they had found the Ophiotaurus.** By that time, stupidly, Percy Jackson had interfered and joined on this journey. Not that neither Zoe nor Indigo could blame him. His girlfriend (it was obvious since the two would almost always act like they were boyfriend/girlfriend in their arguments, as much as he denies it) was in danger, and so of course he intended to join even though he wasn't selected by Zoe to join her in their quest. Still, both had to give the Son of Poseidon credit. He was just that persistent. So she allowed him to join, but only after they had defeated the Nemean Lion, proving to her that they might just have a strong ally to be with in her quest.

There were five of them again, though. Bianca had died at the Junkyard of the Gods...or so most of them had thought.

As Bianca was about to get crushed by the Talos prototype, she was thrown a circular device at her, she looked at the person who threw it: Indigo. He just gave a nod and left, and Bianca turned back to look at the object, which had a button on the center. She pressed it, and suddenly, it levitated up, and from a circle it transformed into a big drill. It cut a hole wide enough through the body of the prototype and big enough for the Daughter of Hades's height.

As a result, once the foot fell, it left her unharmed. Gods know how long she was trapped inside. It wasn't for at least an hour, though. You could say that it was between 45 minutes and one hour, because she didn't know if the metallic being had really stopped moving. Once it was safe for sure, she then saw another button from underneath this time. She took hold of the drill, which was now deactivated, and pressed the button. In a flash, she had appeared just outside of the Junkyard. She then heard a sound from her pocket. It was her ringtone.

It was a message from Indigo.

' _Head to Hoover Dam. We'll be waiting. Do hurry up, though. Zoe is getting a little impatient. Hehehehe.'_ It only said. With a determined look on her face, the new Hunter sauntered on in no time, unwilling to let anything stop her. Plus, she got the Mythomagic figure her brother Nico had wanted.

"Who else are we waiting for? There's no one else left." Zoe asked some time ago. They had been waiting for some time now, and she felt like they were wasting their time. She directed that question to Indigo, who had relayed to her to just keep waiting. She turned to him, upset. They now had the Ophiotaurus. They needed to leave. Now.

"Indy, we have to go. We are wasting time here! Who knows how long we have before Lady Artemis has-" She was then interrupted when she felt two hands on her shoulders, which belonged to Indigo. She was about to force them away from her body when she was forcefully turned to the direction of his eyes. It was a bit tricky, with the distance, but it was clear to both of them who that Bianca was walking towards them. And now she was running.

She widened her eyes in shock. _'How...'_ She didn't have the time to register her thoughts as the elder Di Angelo child tackled and hugged Indigo. She spoke numerous thanks to him, while he just accepted the embrace and returned it. As Zoe watched this, she felt a small pang of jealousy in her heart. And it only confused her even more.

They released their embrace and Bianca immediately went over to their other companions, who were just as shocked as Zoe. Nonetheless they warmly accepted her return.

Zoe turned to the violet-eyed individual, still just trying to wrap her head around the fact that Bianca was alive. Then she saw him chuckle. He motioned for her to close her mouth, or else she may catch flies. She sharply gasped at that and blushed in embarrassment, doing so after. He just shook his head and had a small smile on his face. He casually turned back to look at the dam, only if to avoid the questioning glances his close, no closest friend will give him.

Indigo's mind had been going around in circles. He didn't want to admit it. He never intended to get this close with a Hunter of Artemis. He knew once they save Artemis from danger, he would surely get his ass kicked for what he'd have done. Over time on her quest, he had been slowly falling in love with Zoe Nightshade. And he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to.

Of course, Bianca didn't forget Zoe, and she made sure to hug her too. It was unexpected, but nonetheless Zoe returned the favor. From the start, she had taken a liking to the girl. She had this sort of sisterly instinct around her.

Now, they were heading to San Francisco after a rather...unfortunate incident that had them trapped on the dam itself, but with the help of Athena, who had metallic angel statues help them, they were on their way. While Percy, Thalia, and Grover were casually chatting about, reminiscing about Annabeth, talking to Bianca about her as well (Percy and Thalia were on one angel, the other two on another, with both flying close to each other), Indigo and Zoe were at another angel. Over their journey, he also learned some things. Despite how cold she was, like when they first met, he saw underneath her cold exterior a fierce devotion and a fiery heart. It was there when it is about Artemis. She could also be very kind and funny person when one gets to know her. She had opened up to him about her past. It surprised him that she had already trusted him this much at so little time. But it was her decision to, and he will respect that.

He wanted to throw up after learning of Hercules's actions. He already didn't have much of a good opinion about the legendary man, but this made it even worse. By the time her story ended, she looked very much embittered by what happened. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. She hated how naive she was. It led her to being basically disowned by her own sisters. Now it was more of the same thing all over again. She felt that she failed herself. That she failed to protect their Goddess. And she had thought she failed to protect her adoptive little sister too.

He wanted to comfort her of what happened, but he was still a bit afraid of how she'll react.

But fuck it, he decided to do so.

He tapped onto her shoulder, causing her to turn her head towards him. He then gently pressed the back of her head, and he leaned forward. Their foreheads touched. He closed his eyes, smiling. She did so as well, feeling his warmth. For the first time in a long time, save for the company of the Hunters of Artemis, she felt safe. He pressed his left thumb onto the screen of his phone, and a portion of a song played out, expressing himself to her.

" _You are not alone."_ The song had played out.

She smiled. "Thank you."

They both opened their eyes and locked onto each other, smiling as they did. They laughed, embracing each other, holding onto each other for dear life.

They both knew they were transcending boundaries they've set against themselves, along with certain boundaries not meant to be crossed. But neither cared. They'll face it. Just as soon as they finish this quest first.

* * *

 **The fourth time they truly locked eyes was during the battle against The General.** Grover returned with the Ophiotaurus to a safe place to ensure its survival, and that no one could ever kill it for its power ever again. Finally, they reached the Garden.

 _Zoe's former home._

He saw the sadness in Zoe's eyes when she had to face her former sisters. He knew she didn't want to hurt them. They were still family. But they both knew that they no longer considered her as a sister. They only considered her as an intruder, along with their other companions. At least they had the decency to warn them of the ensuing fight, though that wasn't saying much.

She had been poisoned by Ladon in the ensuing battle. Despite that, Zoe, Indigo, and Bianca continued on, forcing the Hesperides to retreat and defeating the dragon (but not killing him; they weren't merciless to just kill off a guardian) together in order to give Thalia and Percy time, but not before Zoe was administered an antidote by Indigo, one which could cure _any_ poison.

Zoe persisted that she was fine, but Indigo wasn't buying it. He typed out on his phone and showed her: _'I've only known you for a few days, but I can tell how much you're physically hurting, and how you'd try to hide it. I know these things. Just let me help you.'_ Without much of a choice, she let him. Almost instantly after he applied the antidote, she felt the poison fading away from her body. She was amazed, but they didn't have much time left. Bianca and Indigo helped her stand and headed up.

For a mortal, Indigo really was very much prepared for a quest. That was something not many mortals, and most demigods, could've done.

Once the trio arrived, the trio couldn't believe the sight unfolding. There stood Luke and The General, holding Annabeth hostage, facing Thalia and Percy. _And Artemis was holding the sky, and clearly she was in a lot of pain._

The General saw the three up top, and he smirked sadistically, specifically, towards Zoe.

"Atlas." Zoe said with hatred spewing from her tongue.

"I see you've returned, my daughter." He said. She stiffened and gripped her bow.

While their other companions looked at Zoe in shock, Indigo simply stood by her side. He already knew of her parentage when she opened up her past, as he put the pieces together. However, a Daughter of a Titan was still someone to be reckoned with.

Bianca and Indigo looked at each other and nodded. He turned to Zoe, with a look that said, _"Trust me."_ and jumped down with Bianca. She followed suit, rushing to Thalia and Percy.

As Indigo charged towards Luke, he took out two chained kukris from his arsenal. He planted one of them onto the ground, while still holding the chain connected to it, and threw the other towards the rogue Son of Hermes. He leaned the opposite side to avoid it.

"That all you got-" He was cut off as Indigo physically attacked him with a dropkick. This caused him to release his hold on Annabeth, and he then cut the strings that bound her using the planted kukri, pulling to cut the strings.

"Thanks, Indigo." The Daughter of Athena said, collapsing to the ground, tired. He moved her away from the battlefield with Bianca and Atlas. He then turned to see Bianca holding her own against the Titan, but he knew she was gonna lose soon. Luke was nowhere to be seen at this point. Their plan of attack was that Bianca was to be the diversion to distract Atlas so that Indigo could quickly get Annabeth out of Luke's grasp. Meanwhile, Percy had enacted his plan when he had Artemis transfer the burden of holding up the sky to him. Despite Zoe's persistence, out of her fierce loyalty towards Artemis, both her and Percy convinced Zoe that there really wasn't any other choice. She was the only one who could really defeat Atlas. He had complete trust in his friends that they could be able to finish it. With Artemis free, Thalia, Zoe, and the Goddess of the Moon headed off to assist the two. Still, it wasn't enough. He was still too strong for the Goddess of the Hunt, and the 2 demigods, hunter, & mortal.

Artemis decided to fight off Atlas herself, with a plan in mind. She had let him be on the offensive, while she kept defending herself with her twin knives. As she was doing so, she had been luring him nearer and nearer to the sky. Unfortunately, the fatigue of holding the sky had settled in, and she collapsed, defenseless.

At this, the Titan smirked. "You will be the first blood in the new war."

"NO! ARTEMIS!" Zoe yelled, rushing to her to block the possibly final blow. Zoe was fast. Zoe thought that at least, her final act was that she defended her Goddess from a fatal blow. She now stood in front of her. She closed her eyes as she awaited the blow.

Indigo was even faster. He shielded them both with his body, and he tried to shield himself with his kukris. He was knocked back by the Titan into the rocks, which had collapsed on him.

"INDIGOOOOOO!" This time, she went for her mortal friend.

Upon hearing that, Atlas was stunned.

' _Indigo?!'_ He had thought, like as if it was impossible to believe. Fortunately for Artemis and Percy, it was more than enough. With a final attack, Artemis knocked him back under the sky, as Percy released his hold. And once again, Atlas was now forced to hold the sky.

With Annabeth recovered from her injuries, all of them rushed to the pile of rocks that buried his body.

They finally uncovered him. He was coughing pretty badly. One of the kukris was lodged in his right shoulder. The other was simply on the ground. They all gasped. He felt someone cradle his body. He looked up to see Zoe.

He now realized her as his beloved. And she realized it too. Soon enough, the others, Artemis included, did.

Truthfully, the Moon Goddess could not really bring herself to punish her most loyal Hunter. She had stayed with her for more than two millennia. She never betrayed her nor the Hunters. She showed fierce devotion. If Zoe wishes to leave and break her oath, Artemis would bear no ill will towards it.

"You can't die. Please." Zoe tearfully said. "Not when you've changed me so much..."

He lifted a hand to caress her face. He smiled, despite the blood flowing from his forehead. They locked eyes once more. Zoe leaned in and pressed the back of Indigo's head, and their foreheads touched.

"This is...impossible..." They heard Atlas speak. They turned to him. He glared with disdain towards Indigo.

"We thought you were dead...Indigo Sta. Monica, son of Nyx." He uttered, shocking all those present. He was...the son of a Primordial?!

Then, Indigo spoke, further shocking them. "You...can thank...my mom for that..." He smiled, mocking Atlas. He closed his eyes after, too drained to stay conscious. Zoe tried to rouse him awake, but it was no use.

Artemis stood up. "We must take him back home. We may still be able to keep him alive."

They all rode back on Artemis's Moon Chariot, with Zoe carrying the son of Nyx, while the imprisoned Titan can be heard cursing them all as they departed.

As the ride progressed, Zoe started to realize how the last two lines made perfect sense. Indigo had defied fate in this prophecy not one, not twice, but three times. He was the one who defied fate beforehand. At first, she thought it was Percy since he wasn't meant to be with them, but she realized that it was supposed to be _Indigo_ that wasn't meant to be with them. In other words, she herself defied it the first time by picking him. He defied it the second time by saving Bianca. And he defied it the third time by saving her from dying. The thought made her uneasy, but had it not been for that, then things may have gone out differently than this.

But why...why did he hide the fact that he was a Demi-Primordial by passing himself off as a mortal?

No, she put that question away for now. What matters is his survival. His fate...was still in their hands.

No sooner that they arrived at Camp Half-Blood did they quickly rush for the infirmary.

They laid him at the bed and started doing everything they can to heal him, removing the kukri on his shoulder and closing up the wounds.

That was until they felt a chilling air fill the room. They all turned to see the Primordial Goddess of the Night walking in.

"Nyx..." Zoe trailed off. The elegant dark-clothed Primordial turned to look at the Hunter, and she smiled.

"I can see why my son chose you." She said, giving a ghost of a smile. That statement made her blush, and at the same time, widen her eyes in realization.

She walked closer to the bed, where her son lay asleep.

"Oh, Indigo...you've really survived for this long. Six years. You are an amazing son. I'm so proud of you. It's time to accept your heritage once again. You don't need to hide anymore." She then waved her hand over his body. Dark energy poured out and healed all of his wounds.

Moments after that, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. Zoe quickly came to embrace him, but not before she slapped him, which made Percy and Grover flinch at that.

"Indigo Santa Monica...you idiot. I thought you died." She said.

"I would've died for you. Like that song I listen to: _Even if the sky does fall...even when they take it all...there's no pain that I won't go through...even if I have to die for you..._ " He softly sang.

She cried. "You just had to say something about the sky, didn't you?" She joked.

He smiled. "I'm not gonna leave you. Ever."

Everyone gave a heartwarming smile at the two.

It had been days since the various gods had met for the winter solstice, and Artemis was just in time as well. She had requested Percy, Thalia, Zoe, and Indigo to accompany her to give their report. Nearly all the gods had flipped their shit, most good, some bad (*coughZeuscough*) upon finding out that Indigo was a Demi-Primordial, more so that he was Nyx's son. Zeus, in his paranoid self as usual, had immediately conducted a vote whether or not to execute Indigo for existing. Not even five seconds later did he receive a severe reprimanding by Artemis, along with Nyx herself that promptly shut that down. Indigo had to resist from laughing at how the king of the Greek Gods was emotionally kicked to the curb by his sister-figure of a goddess and his mother.

The Hunters sadly had to say goodbye to Zoe, as she now requested to Artemis her departure, as she had truly fallen in love with Indigo. It elicited a change in the Moon Goddess. She saw how true their love was. She may be against males, but she could never be against true love. The other Hunters didn't mind it either, though it still hurt that they would never be frequently close to the one Hunter they had looked up to the most. Even though her immortality had to be taken away, she didn't mind it in the slightest. She wished her luck in the future, and she hoped that the two would cross paths once more. With her departure, Thalia, who had requested to join the Hunters during the council of the gods to avoid being the 'Child of the Prophecy', had become the leader. Despite their quarreling, stemming from the fact that in a previous time, and since then, the Daughter of Zeus refused to join them, she had seen how much of a leader she was, and she trusted her enough to continue bearing that standard as the leader of the Hunters.

Bianca reunited with her younger brother. Really, all that mattered to him was that his sister was safe, and he was overjoyed to see her again. He won't deny that he liked the present she gave him from her journey, though. It was the last one he needed, after all.

As for Percy and Annabeth, they continued like it was before the quest to save Artemis, along with Grover to round out the trio once again.

Now, the two were sitting by the lake, much like the time before they left for her quest.

There was just one question left.

"Why did you pose as a mortal for so long?" Zoe asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

He shrugged. "Simple, really. I had just flat-out refused to accept my heritage years after I was born. I just wanted to live my life as a mortal for some time. So I asked my mom, who, unlike the Greek Gods, didn't care much for the ancient laws, Primordial and all, to take away my heritage as her son. With the help of Chiron, she was able to have me sent to this camp as just a mere mortal who can see through the Mist. But, she gave me one catch: If I were to speak a full sentence, with my voice, she'll return to hand it back to me. Of course, some things just don't fade away, like my vulnerability to celestial bronze." He explained.

He also defied fate that way by rejecting his Primordial heritage, and he still succeeded in maintaining mortality up to this point.

"So...when you said those words to Atlas..."

"Yes. I was ready to take it back."

"Why?"

"For you. You loved me as a mortal. It was kinda enough proof for me that you wouldn't care about who I might've been. The fact that you didn't mind me being mute, that you liked having me around despite that, all but sealed it."

It was then her turn. "Indy...do you see yourself as a hero?" She asked.

He thought about it deeply.

"No. I'm not. I continue to defy fate again and again. I wanted to escape my heritage. I escaped fate again and again too, despite that they keep telling us that you can't escape your fate. I don't even want to be the hero. I just want to be...me. Not as a hero, but simply as myself, content being in the shadows, watching, assisting, learning, making more bonds, if possible. And I just want to be with you."

"That...was more than good enough of an answer." She said, smiling.

He wrapped his arms around her. He stared into her beautiful dark brown eyes, just as she looked into his violet eyes.

"I love you, Zoe Nightshade."

"I love you, Indigo Santa Monica."

They leaned towards each other, and their lips connected into one loving kiss.

* * *

 **Well, that's that. Anyone liked the twist that he was a son of Nyx?**

 **Anyways, I hadn't written anything at all in these past two months. Let's just say I went through some pretty terrible stuff, and I just couldn't focus at all. But, at least one good thing came out of that: I've graduated high school! It was honestly one of the best things to have happened in my life.**

 **So, I made a personal challenge to myself to write at least a one-shot that had my main character be a mute. I tried to make a story that doesn't rely too much on dialogue. As you can see, for about 85% of the story, he was. I think it's best to say I didn't succeed too much on the latter part, though.**

 **In the end, I just wanted to write a full one-shot again. Just anything for me to get back into the world of fanfiction. It took me an entire night to begin and finish typing it out. Like seriously, by I had typed it all out, it was early morning. I edited the whole thing the next day. And this is the final result.**

 **This isn't gonna get much attention, I know. Still, I ask that you guys give a review for your thoughts on this one-shot. It will really help me out.**

 **Until then, dear readers.**

 **P.S. I suggest you listen to Starset's songs. They were also inspiration for this story.**

 **P.P.S. If it wasn't up to what you had expected, that's alright. I might not make any more PJO stories at this point.**


End file.
